To think some eBay sellers are CFs?

[fuckedupfriendships]

I have been looking on eBay for summer clothes for my 3dc. Money is tight and I'm all for second hand, passing things down and my eldest is growing so fast that nothing lasts long so eBay seemed the way to go.

I couldn't believe how much some people were charging for postage! £4.50 for a child's T-shirt that will class as a large letter?! And starting the bidding at £5! These are used items and you could end up paying more in total than if buying new.

I've listed lots of stuff for sale and usually go by the eBay recommended postage price plus 10p for the postage bag as they are really inexpensive. Most things have cost £2.90 to post. However yesterday I discovered that postage is now £3 not £2.90 so I'm only covering the cost of the postage. How can people justify £4.50 postage for a T-shirt and second class post at that! Mainland post too. Some sellers want £5.50 postage for jeans and lots of people seem to be bumping prices up in general and eBay is no longer the bargain it used to be.

Why not set a minimum offer so they can't make derogatory offers? That's what I do.

There are plenty of sellers with very cheap items so just avoid those who you think are over priced. It's not really CF as nobody is forcing you to buy it, or hiding the postage costs - it's all there for you to see.

With some kids clothing brands, e.g. frugi, the t shirts are £15 new so a second hand one for £5 is not too bad. Obviously if it's from primark, you wouldn't expect to pay that much even new.

The cheapest way to do it is buy big bundles, take out what you like and then take the rest to a charity shop or sell it yourself. If you're not bothered about brands, a bundle of kids clothes from asda, primark etc will go for under £10.

I bet it’s people who have been shafted by buyers claiming not to have received items so they are sending everything signed for. I do agree that at these prices for 2nd hand kids clothes you can’t compete with buying new, which is a shame.

The post office may allow you to post a item as a large letter but then your receive the item with an additional charge.
I posted three items to myself to check this out, I was charged an extra £2 for a pack of eye lashes that was light. The other pack arrived no problem.

Even if I set a minimum offer, I still get cheeky buggers messaging me and asking me to take less. Even when I'm offering free postage, I still get people who think that they should be allowed to get away with paying pennies for something that regularly sells for a lot more.
The point I'm trying to make, I guess, is that people will be CF no matter what 'side' they are on - buyers or sellers!

I don't buy or sell regularly so am not aware of all these complexities. It just amazes me that someone can charge £4 for an item that costs £1.50 first class. The post office check parcels here through the gauge but if you are relying on online info then I can see how mistakes can be made.

I'm happy to pay more for both good quality goods and signed for postage.

Yes, both buyers and sellers can be CF!

An ex was once charged £5 p&p even though it was collection only!! He was an idiot to pay it though

if you buy your postage on ebay even non signed for Royal mail postage comes with a tracking number
ebay takes 10% of the total including postage so £3 t shirt plus £3 postage ebay takes 60p
paypal fees are 3.4% plus 20p so in this case 40p

so item sells at £3 -60p in fees ( +10p profit on postage) cost of plastic bag to post around 5p total profit £2.45
private sellers can't charge or account for time, or travelling costs to post office
most items like t shirts can easily go as a large letter is folded properly and air squeezed out of the bag
if you use ebay to buy postage not only does a small parcel cost 2.90 instead of £3 at post office but because there is a tracking number within the QR square there are fewer missing item claims
I sell as a business and out of 800 odd items sent recently 1 has not arrived and 2 have arrived with boxes so badly squashed items were damaged as a business this is actually less than 1%
a decision needs to be made you will get more for your item if postage is lower so if you manage to postage to above t shirt as large letter for £2.03 and charge £2 postage instead of £3 the costs re fees are the same but you make almost another £1
most people search for lowest price including postage
so a £4 t shirt with £2 postage comes higher in search than a £ 3 t shirt with £3.20 postage
if a package goes missing of value less than £20 you will get compensated by royal mail for value of sale plus postage so signed for below £20 is not worth it financially so annoying though it is if someone claims not arrived you will actually not be out of pocket you just need to fill in an online claim form with Royal mail a bit of hassle yes but financial loss no.

though emotionally it might seem "signed for" works best it is not a good business decision for low price objects
In reality very little % terms goes missing about 0.1%

my advice as a business seller is to keep postage costs a low as possible and make up money on item price; people see £5.99 with free postage as a much better deal than £2,99 with £3 postage
only used signed for above £20 unless tech, tech is the worst category for fraud

Facebook marketplace is much better, people tend to sell stuff for cheaper as there's no fees and you can search your local area to pick it up so no postage. I'm in a few Facebook selling groups too for specific things (like wooden toys) and postage is usually reasonable as again no fees.

Otherwise charity shops and car boot sales are your best bet!

Can't believe so many people recommending primark though! Yeah it's cheap but really poor quality and appalling conditions/wages for the people who make the clothes. We have a ridiculous amount of clothing in the UK (I read years ago there's enough clothing in the UK to give every man, woman and child on the planet two items of clothing!), second hand is definitely better.

facebook is cheaper for buyers but if you are selling you will on average get 70% more on ebay
if someone needs to get the maximum price for their second hand stuff ebay is best , facebook 2nd car boots last as everyone wants things for 20p

if you are to buy as cheap as possible you will do better outside of ebay though ebay can be good for bundles and also if looking for something specific you could never be sure you would get a waterproof coat for a 3 year old at a car boot or charity shop without several visits you could choose between dozens on ebay

With selling fees, PayPal fees and the amount it costs to post, eBay isn’t great for selling anymore.

I buy a lot from eBay and won’t buy if the postage is a rip off. I once bought two items from a seller who refused to combine postage so I ended up paying £6 for postage for two children’s jumpers and they obviously sent the jumpers in the same parcel... Left a negative. Never come across a seller before or since who refuses to combine. I generally either buy bundles or try to buy a few things from the same seller to save on postage.

@outsho there are some real idiots on ebay both buyers and sellers
people ask the silliest questions
selling a pair of cups: are there 4?
selling a 6ft/ 180cm scarf : how long is it?
can you post to USA without tracking and mark as gift to save postage?

I agree about silly postage though trying to charge £4 for what you know will only cost about £1.50

I don't like Facebook selling people mess around say they are coming to collect, but don't show up. Or they want to come in 5 minutes when I'm not home. They also seem to want your address then ask when you are home over the next week. I don't want to give out my movements I want you to say is 7.30pm tonight ok and I say yes or no, then you come at that time but that rarely happens.

I did a lot of eBay recently and I stopped using 2nd class as so much went missing. My packaging was secure etc. I literally had about 40% go missing, so I had to start using signed for and then nothing went missing. Although I got one item returned by Post office as the person didn't collect it from the collection office in time.

When I've sold baby clothes I put postage as £3 which is the actual price of the postage but I still need to buy the padded envelopes and get to the post office, so when stuff sells for £1 I usually end up with 0 profit! I guess by charging £4 they get the money for packaging and petrol to the post office?

I would suggest that anyone who only sells a few things buys a bag for life 10p at supermarket and turns it inside out wrap the things in newspaper then place inside the bag

there is no charge for private sellers on ebay to list so don't start listings at 99p

it is actually not worth selling for £1 so just start slightly higher say 1.99 or just put the things on at £5 with free postage

£5 ( postage £3 ebay fees 50P paypal 37p bag 10p) profit 1.03 so to make it even approaching worthwhile it needs to be starting at £4.99 with free postage or at £1.99 with £3 postage, I can't see that it is worth selling anything unless you have £1 in your pocket afterwards
you could save a further 10p by printing your own postage online via ebay it is 2.90 for small parcel size

Interested in this thread as I used to do eBay years ago and stopped as got fed up with things going 'missing' so much. Started selling things via Facebook and gumtree which was fine and relatively hassle free (apart from the odd person that didn't show up etc).
My SIL was telling me about how she'd got back into eBay so I thought I'd list some things and see how it goes. Noticed a few things have changed since I last used it. Not having to list things for 99p in order to list for free is good. Also good it suggests a price for you.
Starting to panic slightly after reading this thread that I'll actually lose money though. I've put £2.90 postage for most of mine. Although one of the items is my sons designer jumper so thinking of just paying the extra to get it signed for.
Sorry that wasn't really advice, just my input!

yes the rules have changed ebay is mostly business sellers selling lots of the same however there are still plenty of private sellers but people still really expect business standards so decent photos; proper descriptions; faults described; posted within 2-3 days at roughly postage cost at max
all private sellers can sell 100 items per month at any starting price
fees are 10% of sale price plus postage so there is no longer any advantage to selling for 99p with £4 postage as opposed to 4.99 with free postage paypal fees are also on the whole at 3.4% plus 20p per transaction
you can print your own postage labels on ebay then just drop at courier or post box or get collected from your home this automatically gives you tracking
since swapping to ebay shutl to print labels virtually nothing has gone missing
place things on a white background for photos a bed sheet is fine is object is tall place bedsheet over a dining chair and place object on seat

@TeacupDrama excuse my ignorance but how do you go about using a courier?

using ebay shutl ( you need your own printer) once item has sold you go to print postage you select parcel size/weight large letter small parcel etc then you choose royal mail or ebay shutl

Royal Mail is cheapest for large letters upto750g
there is only 6p difference between Royal mail and Hermes for small parcels any medium under 2kg parcel, or any thing over 2kg will be cheaper via a courier
for example 3 kg parcel with royal mail cheapest is 10.55 online but a Hermes would be 6.49 and UPS 7.59 a big saving
if you choose Royal mail you print off label attach to parcel and drop at post office ( for letters large letters the price is the same, parcels are about 10p cheaper than over the counter)
ebay shutl uses a variety of couriers hermes/ collect plus/ DPD/ UPS
different ones are cheaper for different weights and sizes anything over 2kg is cheaper by courier than royal mail
you can choose to either drop at nearest drop off point or for about an extra 60p they will pick parcel up from your house it maybe that a slightly dearer courier has a drop off point half a mile away and the cheapest is 2 miles away so you have to decide what is best value for yourself, most drop off points are corner shop type places Spar costcutter even a petrol station they are normally places open at least 12 hours a day
people generally want the cheapest postage at the end of the day you don't get Waitrose service for Aldi prices
UPS, DPD insure upto £60 and give a 2 hour slot Hermes collect plus just a day but are over £1 cheaper and only insure to £20 unless you buy extra insurance
Please note neither Royal mail or any courier pay out for breakages of breakable stuff like china glass ornaments musical instruments s you need to pack really well

I sell vintage and antique china/ glass / collectables I send loads via Royal Mail Hermes DPD UPS, you just have to pack well, less than 1% gets damaged or goes missing

hope that helps

you can also book all couriers direct HErmes have a print in store facility if you don't have your own printer
if you have an odd shaped or heavy parcel parcel2go looks at a range of couriers to determine the cheapest
check whether they have a drop off near you, as if you have to drive 8 miles you might be better off getting them to pick up from your house
however you either need a safe place to leave parcels or be in all day